Having a greater sense of how swinging the club “in to out” will improve golf swing performance may help the golfer better understand and grasp the concept itself.

In his book, “On Learning Golf”, author Percy Boomer offers some expert advice to help golfers improve golf swing performance. He explains how swinging the club “in to out” is the golfer’s best way of successfully managing both ball flight and run.

Boomer writes;

“This feeling of in-to-out is intimately connected with that other feeling…that of being set inwards and behind the ball. The long straight drive that covers the pin all the way is the result of a swing which you feel travels from in-to-out. This is what we all refer to as an in-to-out swing; a shot in which the club head does actually take this path (as distinct from being felt to take it) is only played by the first-class golfer when they want to put pull on the ball. And if you will think it out, that suggests why the in-to-out feeling is something that we teachers try to instill into every pupil.

The point being that, while an exaggerated in-to-out feel gives pull, the correct in-to-out feel gives straightness and no in-to-out feel (that is, the feeling that the club head goes along the line of flight) gives slice.

The advantage of the modern in-to-out swing is seen in both the flight and the run of the ball. Hit with the correct in-to-out feel, the ball is given the very minimum of backspin—consequently it “floats” through the air and, when it pitches, takes its natural spin forward, instead of kicking sideways as an undercut ball tends to do, as every lawn-tennis player knows.

To return to the subject of slice. The man who gave me my first job as a professional thirty-five years ago was the late H. L. Curtis—father of the present Pro at Queen’s Park, Bournemouth. He told me many years later that he was doubtful about giving me the job, but having done so he started me off with a very sound piece of advice. “Now laddie,” he said, “if you ever want to make good at this business, you had better find out how to teach people not to slice.”

Those were the days before in-to-out! Consequently few players could get any draw on the ball, and mainly we just sliced our way around the course. Well, it took me a good twenty years to learn to correct that natural tendency in my own game, and then I had to learn to pass it on to my pupils. For make no mistake, everyone has to be taught; it does not come naturally. In some respects teaching golf is like fighting the Devil“!

Improve golf swing performance by learning to correctly swing the club “in to out”!

Use Boomer’s professional instruction in your practice sessions.

Check back soon for more posts and tips to improve golf swing performance!

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, an Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett provide some beginner golf swing instruction – explaining the valuable role the long irons play in a winning golf game..

They write;

“Al Balding, one of the greatest professionals ever to come out of Canada and a truly fine iron player, regards the long irons as his “bread and butter” clubs.

“There’s something wrong with your swing if you can’t hit the long irons,” Balding once observed. “The way they stretch the holes out in tournament competition, it seems like we’re always pumping at them with two- or three-irons.”

Balding, of course, is not alone in his thoughts concerning the importance of the long irons in tournament play. Every topflight professional has spent many hours perfecting this phase of their game, which involves the one-, two-, and three-irons. It is a curious, but certainly not surprising, fact that almost every great player of the modern era excels with their long irons. They excel because they practice with them and have confidence in them.

Square Up To The Ball

THE ADDRESS

The stance for the long irons is a bit wider than for the medium irons and is slightly closed to the line of flight. In taking your stance, I suggest that you first set yourself up over the ball in a “square” position, that is, have your feet, hips, and shoulders on a parallel line toward the hole. Then, simply slip your right foot back an inch or so just before you begin the waggle. If you approach the ball with a closed stance, you will have a tendency to line up to the right of the target. It is best to always begin your swing preparations from the square stance.

During the address, your weight should be evenly distributed between both feet. The hands are slightly ahead of the ball, and the arms are in close to the body. Owing to the longer shaft, you will find the ball a bit farther away from you than when you are addressing the ball for a medium-iron shot.

THE BACKSWING

Swing the clubhead back along the ground for the first 10 or 12 inches, utilizing the body and shoulder to move you into the backswing. As the hands pass outside the right leg the arms and hands begin a gradual lifting and cocking action which brings the clubhead into a position where it is pointing toward the sky. At the top of the swing, the weight is almost entirely on the right side. The wrists are fully cocked and the full shoulder turn is complete. The left heel is allowed to come off the ground about an inch to free the hips and shoulders from any strain during the turn away from the ball.

THE DOWNSWING

As soon as the left side has initiated the downswing, the left heel is planted firmly on the ground (some professionals advocate making this a conscious effort in starting the downswing). Planting the left heel firmly and early ensures that you will be on the inside plane on the downswing. If the weight is forward on your toes, chances are the swing will be from the inside out.

Halfway down, the wrists are still fully cocked and the right elbow is tucked in against the right side. This is added insurance for an inside-out swing. At this point, the weight is definitely moving to the left side and the right side is beginning its drive into the shot.

At impact, the left side is out of the way, the left arm is still straight, and the head is behind the ball. At the finish the weight is on the outside of the left foot and toward the heel. Note the relaxed right side and how my hands and arms have swung to a high finish”.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs know a golfer possessing a working command over their long irons also possesses a huge advantage over their peers!

A proper golf swing is directly dependent upon the golfer’s ability to correctly use three vital body parts: the wrists, hips and head.

Get these three body parts moving properly and a golfer will see their game improve with amazing speed and success!

Knowing exactly how these three body parts contribute to a successful swing pattern is the first step in achieving a proper golf swing.

That being said, a great deal of confusion often surrounds the correct use of these three body parts. This confusion often places the proper golf swing out of a golfers reach.

In the book, “The Master Key to Success at Golf” author Leslie King discusses the function of the wrists, hips and head and their overall importance in executing a proper golf swing.

King writes;

“Certain parts of the anatomy you do not need to worry about if you follow the movements I have outlined, but since a good deal has been said and written about the function of this and that part of the player, I will have a brief word to say about them in the hope of preventing natural curiosity from leading you astray. First:

THE WRISTS

…In the completed backswing…the wrists have performed their function naturally without your being aware of it. They have broken with the smooth momentum of the weighted club head. If you have followed my instructions so far you have not given a thought to the matter of whether or not they are fully cocked at the top of the swing.

That is as it should be. You need only concern yourself with allowing the wrists to remain supple and not locked by too fierce a grip of the club. Excessive wrist-action is one of the problems I have to iron out in so many pupils coming to me for the first time.

THE HIPS

The action of the hips has been facilitated by the straight back and the flexed right knee, two important points. Unless locked by tension or a faulty address they have responded to the trunk and arm movements.

The hips have made a turn of about 45 degrees (precisely how much depends on individual physical characteristics) compared with the essential 90 degree turn of the shoulders. The right hip has moved back without being raised. The right hip-action is of particular importance with short, stocky players, say those under five foot eight, and the over-forties who are becoming less supple around the mid-section.

They particularly need a full free movement of the right hip to get the required shoulder turn without strain.

THE HEAD

I have already emphasized that the head should have remained still, in the same position as at address. I have pointed out, too, that an obsession about the transfer of weight from the left foot to the right will cause the head to move laterally.

Wrong.

But an upwards and downwards movement of the head during the swing can be just as damaging. This provides one more reason why you should keep the right knee consistently flexed throughout the backswing and the left shoulder up.

Once let the left shoulder drop and before you realize it the head goes with it, the left side collapses and the right hip rises too high. Keep that head steady. Don’t let it bob up and down and from side to side like a cork on a rough sea“.

A proper golf swing is contingent upon how effectively the golfer makes use of their wrists, hips and head.

Incorporate King’s expert advice to improve your golf swing and game!

Check back soon for more articles and posts to help you achieve a proper golf swing!

We all would like to know a golf swing tip which holds the secret power to instantly motivate us to practice our game.

But does such a golf swing tip truly exist?

Is there a golf swing tip successful golfers’ follow which provides them with the impetus to practice their swing religiously? Yes…just take some action and get moving!

In the book, “The Winning Touch in Golf, A Psychological Approach” author Peter G. Cranford, Ph.D. offers the reader his approach on how to stay motivated and constantly progress your play. His golf swing tip could make all the difference in your golf game!

Cranford writes;

“The next secret of golf is to overcome inertia. Muscles have a mind of their own, and do not like to make any move unless impelled to do so. Once they begin to move, the muscles do not seem to care. We must harness this tendency in ourselves to continue doing what we are doing, and may have to take rather sly means of shifting our actions toward practice. Once shifted, the muscles, like Newton’s law of motion, prefer to continue golfing unless acted upon by some outside force. This is what we mean by overcoming inertia.

Some people have trained themselves to do, without procrastination, whatever must be done. These people have no problem with inertia. Most of us have to “use psychology” to get ourselves going. In my younger days, I decided that I wanted to build a house with my own hands. Each day I had great difficulty getting started. I asked an old carpenter how he managed to get to work without hesitation. He told me that he once had the same trouble and cured himself.

“How?” I asked.

He replied, “Pick up something.”

When I was in college we were instructed on how to overcome inertia in buckling down to necessary study. We were given essentially the same advice. “Open the book.”

I was once engaged in doing tedious research and writing on the history of an old mental hospital. I had the duty of organizing a psychological staff for the hospital and, as a preliminary step, I felt it necessary to know the background of the institution.

At that time, I was the only psychologist on the staff, and we had more than 10,000 patients. By supper time I was pretty tired, and it was most difficult for me to stir up any enthusiasm for the history. I succeeded in getting the job done by tricking myself into it. I would say, “I will walk to the office after supper, but I will not go in.” When I had gotten that far, I continued with, “I will go in but I won’t do any work.” The next step was, “I will get my data sheets out, but I will not do any writing.”

Finally, I told myself, “I will write one paragraph and quit.” I finished the manuscript eventually and it proved very useful in developing plans for the hospital. I have derived more personal satisfaction from this unknown effort than from those which attracted more attention and were more profitable financially.

An engineer I knew in Austin, Texas, told me he always had all the professional business he wanted but his big problem was “getting started.” Finally, he hit on an idea. He would jot down everything he knew about the project. He did not care how irrelevant the information was to the problem of design. He found that when he had done this, out of the welter of useful and useless information, the design of the project would begin to take shape and the next thing he knew he was actively translating his ideas to the drawing board.

In South Georgia, farmers grind sugar cane in what amounts to an over-size coffee grinder. A horse pulls a lever arm around and around until the day’s work is over. On occasions when there is no work to be done, it is not unusual for the horse or mule to leave the barn at the usual hour, go to the sugar mill, and begin nudging the lever arm. If the arm is out, he will begin plodding his circular path. Although a number of interesting morals could be derived from this expression of obsessiveness, it is enough for us to note its application to the overcoming of inertia.

I rather enjoy practice, but there are occasions when I do not particularly feel like it. This may occur after a lay-off due to unavoidable circumstances. I am able to seduce myself into beginning by saying, “I will practice five minutes and then quit.” I have yet to quit after I once get on the practice tee and, in addition, I invariably enjoy the session—even in uninviting weather“.

A golf swing tip that helps move golfers toward taking the necessary action to practice and improve their game is a tip worth taking!

Incorporate Cranford’s professional advice to help you consistently play to your greatest potential!

The execution of proper golf swing mechanics is the key to both a successful golf swing and golf game.

One fundamental component of golf swing mechanics is the position and placement of the feet.

Correct positioning of the feet will allow the golfer to maintain balance while generating power during the different phases of the swing pattern. This concept of “balanced power” is essential to optimal swing performance – ensuring a consistent swing axis, swing plane and club face angle – the overall goal of golf swing mechanics!

In his book, “Golf Can Be an Easy Game”, author Joe Novak offers his professional advice regarding the proper positioning of the feet and their contribution to winning golf swing mechanics.

Novak writes:

“The proper place to stand is in a position where the ball will be opposite the left heel. A line running from the ball to the inside part of the left heel will be at right angles to the line of the shot. The feet should be so placed that the toes of both feet are parallel to the line of the shot.

This position is to be assumed on all shots and with all clubs. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule…however; the basic rule is that the ball is always played opposite the left heel with all clubs (the position is not changed for each club).

The reason that the ball is played opposite the left foot is very clear. In order to raise the club to the top of the swing when making the stroke, the player should use the right side of the body. In order to accomplish this, the weight must be on the right foot. When the player brings the club down into and through the ball, the player should use their left side, and in order to use the left side the weight must be on the left foot. Therefore, as the ball is being hit, the player will be balanced on their left foot. The swing, therefore, will be centered at that point, opposite the left foot, and that is where the ball should be played with all clubs.

The feet should never be wider apart than the width of the shoulders. In other words, always use a narrow, rather than a wide, stance because with the narrower stance it is easier to shift the weight to the right foot for the upswing and re-shift it to the left foot for the downswing“.

Both the position and placement of the feet play crucial roles in the proper execution of golf swing mechanics.

Use Novak’s expert advice to properly position the feet during your swing stance!

Check back soon for more tips and posts to help improve your golf swing mechanics!

“Seeing the ball to hit the ball” appears to be reasonable advice to improve golf swing performance. But is it?

Take a read of the article below. It makes a compelling case that golfers can improve golf swing performance without locking their eyes on the golf ball!

In his book, “On Learning Golf”, author Percy Boomer offers some expert advice to help golfers improve golf swing performance. He explains how “feeling” the ball is the new seeing the ball.

Boomer writes;

“I suppose the most often repeated piece of advice in the whole realm of golf is “keep your eye on the ball.” It is given and accepted as a profound golfing truth (which properly understood it is), but it is necessary to examine what we mean by it and how it fits into the rest of our golfing program.

Very early in my teaching of a new pupil I tell them to keep their eye on the ball, because I know that unless they do so they will never achieve any class as a golfer. But I do not harp on the idea or rub it in—I point out that its importance actually lies less in the sight of the ball than in the reactions which it produces —for instance that it keeps our heads still.

And I put this emphasis on the reactions rather than on the sight of the ball because, to my mind, it is only the bad golfer who actually sees the ball out of their eyes. The good golfer I am convinced feels where the ball is more than sees it.

Now to the ordinary golfer that may seem an absurd statement, or if they do accept it, it may be confusing. So I will try to clarify my meaning.

When Aubrey and I were playing a lot together, we were often congratulated, upon the deftness of our short game—and the congratulations were usually followed by the comment, “How long you keep your head down after the ball has gone!” Their idea was obviously that I kept my head down because it enabled me to “keep my eye on the ball.” But what I was really doing was to keep my head down in order to retain the feel of the swing and to keep my controls going even though the ball had been dispatched. Few of the spectators realized that I often played these shots with my eyes shut; yet I did so.

But when I play with my eyes shut, my senses are wide open. My main concern was to see that my general muscular feel and sense of balance went right through to the end. Not until the follow-through was finished did I look up to see where the ball had gone. I never miss a shot through looking up too quickly; I do sometimes miss one through fear of missing it! The primary fault is not in looking up but in losing the feel of the swing.

Incidentally I have taught many pupils to play beautiful pitch shots without looking at the ball. One very well-known golfer to whom I taught this brought out his “better-half” to watch him “do his circus stuff.” He played some beautiful shots high in the air over gaping bunkers, dropping close around the pin every time and all the while looking me straight in the face. His wife was utterly astonished; then she saw the funny side of it and laughed herself nearly into hysterics!

My view is that the good golfer can only see the ball when their swing is working smoothly, and then it looks as big as a tennis ball! The beginner sees the ball in another way, and because of this, more often than not they miss it. Their attention is so concentrated upon seeing the ball that they cannot feel their swing operate. The business of seeing the ball occupies them too exclusively.

Do I mean by that that the beginner needs to learn how to see the ball? That is exactly what I do mean. They must learn not to see the ball to the exclusion of all their other senses. So when I tell a pupil to keep their eye on the ball I at once go on to the work of building up a swing that makes looking at the ball a necessity. Of course every pupil “looks up” badly at first to have the pleasure of seeing where the ball has gone, but this is a primitive stage and soon over.

In the next stage, when I am impressing them more and more with swinging correctly, I find that they often becomes so engrossed in the swing as to be unable to remember to keep their eye on the ball. But in such a case I believe the cure must come by making the “head down” a natural outcome of the swing. If I simply insist upon “head down,” I run a risk of getting my pu¬pil all stiffened up, “frozen on the ball” as we call it, and consequently only able to make hacking, chopping movements.

Now in this matter of seeing the ball, I would ask you to consider a golfer at the other end of the scale. How does a very good golfer see the ball? In my opinion, through their very highly developed sense of feel, they see the ball (in some proportion) through their hands.

Sees through their hands? Perhaps the idea is not so fanciful as it might seem. I began to think about it first after I had read an article by Sir Herbert Barker some years ago. This is what he said: “We take our hands too much for granted. Their possibilities and powers are seldom discovered or developed. Most people pass through life with these two implements untrained, unexplored, unknown. . . .” Then he goes on: “When we take for granted the localization of our senses in certain organs we go too fast. Localized they are, but not completely so.” Then at a later date my interest was reawakened by the declaration of Dr. Fougools, the French savant, that in the skins of our hands are potential eyes. He says that they are nerve eyes atrophied for the simple reason that we have developed two ocular instruments so much superior to them.

Now to my mind the value of that idea to the golfer lies largely in an idea which it promotes, that perhaps the greatest value of “keeping your eye on the ball” is the assistance which it gives in building up sight through feel.

For whatever may be the eventual verdict of science upon the tentatively advanced hypothesis of the two famous men quoted above, I can assure you that some sort of sight through feel is certainly possible. I have developed it myself, as have many other first-class golfers. I can see the face of the club and the angle it is at the top of my swing (when it is “out of sight” be¬hind the back of my head), and long before I lift my head, I can see the ball fly away with the exact curve which I know my shot has given it.

But let us leave these metaphysical regions and come back to the ordinary golfer. Why is it that so often they can make perfect swings when the ball is not there, yet they become semi-petrified and makes the most ridiculous shots as soon as there is a ball, even a ball carefully perched on a perfectly prepared tee, for them to hit? And what would happen if you could put down an invisible ball for them? Is it knowing that the ball is there that upsets their swing or is it the sight of it“?

Improve golf swing performance by “feeling” the ball as opposed to seeing the ball!

Use Boomer’s professional instruction in your practice sessions.

Check back soon for more posts and tips to improve golf swing performance!

Beginner golf swing instruction programs understand the vital role both the legs and arms play in a winning swing pattern.

Students of the game must learn to correctly position both these segments to effectively swing the club to their greatest potential.

To better help their students quickly locate the ideal positions for the arms and legs, beginner golf swing instruction programs employ both cueing techniques and lessons in anatomy!

Student golfers learn cueing techniques to sense weight displacement in the legs and anatomical landmarks, like the elbows and hips, to help determine arm placement.

Knowing these simple yet effective methods used by beginner golf swing instruction programs can make all the difference in your golf swing!

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, an Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett provide some beginner golf swing instruction – walking the student golfer through an easy system designed to correctly position both the arms and legs at the address.

They write;

“The Legs

Flex the knees. At the address position, the knees should be flexed just enough to make your stance comfortable. Some golfers tend to bend their knees too much, while others stand stiff legged over the ball.

There is a happy medium for everyone.

Study the forms of the leading professionals or good amateur players in your area who are near your physical build. Observe how they address the ball and then do a little experimenting yourself. You will soon find a position that feels comfortable to you. Remember, however, don’t flex your knees too much or you will be unable to pivot, or turn, properly.

I have a little habit of pinching my knees in slightly when I address the ball. This tends to work the weight to the inside of my feet, and it firms up my leg muscles so that during the swing I have a “live” feeling in my legs. Pinching the knees in also makes it easier to swing. This inward flexing of the knees promotes good balance, and, as a result, more power and clubhead speed in the hitting area.

So, actually, the knees are flexed in two directions—slightly outward and inward—at the address to give you a comfortable stance and body position over the ball.

Positioning The Arms

Keep the arms close to the body. During the address, the upper part of my arms are in close to my chest, yet I have the feeling that my hands are away from my body. This feeling is achieved by turning the elbows slightly inward so that the right elbow is relaxed and points to my right hip while my left elbow points slightly outside my left hip. With the arms in this position, the swing becomes a one-piece movement, for it puts the emphasis on the body action instead of just the arms and the hands.

It is my firm belief that the hands do nothing consciously but grip the club, and if you entrust your swing primarily to the proper body movements you are bound to become a more consistent player.

In summary, if you will set up on the ball correctly and memorize the basic stances, your arms, legs, and body will be in a position to carry out their assignments much more easily. The entire swing will function more smoothly, more efficiently, and with more power than you have ever had before“.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs understand the important roles the legs and arms play in a successful swing pattern

Try implementing Littler and Collett’s professional advice into your next practice.

Check back soon for more beginner golf swing instruction articles and posts to help improve your golf swing and game!

Post Calendar

Affiliate Policy: Due to recent laws www.golfswingstip.com is considered an advertisement. www.golfswingstip.com has an affiliate relationship with all the products and services discussed/displayed on this site and accepts/receives compensation and/or commissions on all sales, leads and traffic made when visitors click an affiliate link. If you have any questions regarding our earning disclaimer please contact us: golfpro@golfswingstip.com